Categories: Car News

In an effort to gain more prominence in the auto show circuit, the LA Auto Show, which originally took place in early January pushed its dates back several years ago. This move separated it from other major shows like the North American International Auto Show that takes place in mid-January in Detroit, as well as from the holiday season. Beginning with the 2007 show, LA found a new slot in mid-November/early-December of each year.

The move back the calendar is paying off for LA in that more automakers are using the City of Angels as a backdrop for big unveils and North American debuts. In July, the show provided an initial look at some of the 20 world debuts that are coming to the show, and yesterday it issued some more details on what we'll see.

A revised lawsuit is claiming that Toyota Motor Corp. secretly purchased defective automobiles from consumers in order to cover-up problems with unintended acceleration and hide the facts from federal safety regulators and the public. According to the amended class action suit, Toyota allegedly asked customers to agree NOT to disclose any details regarding the problems with Toyota vehicles, and to refrain from suing Toyota, in exchange for the buy-back arrangement.

Automotive News.com: “The new complaint also cites internal company records documenting instances in which Toyota technicians or service managers replicated speed-control problems like those reported by customers.” Alleged records also reveal that there was at least one incidence of unintended acceleration that was obscured to avoid federal safety regulators from finding out about it.

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com recently announced that the company plans to purchase Kelley Blue Book, along with its two sister companies, CDMdata and CDM Dealer Services. According to Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com: "This will be a good thing for Kelley Blue Book." Anwyl stated, "AutoTrader.com started out as a listings service and is still very strong that way, while Kelley Blue Book is strong in used-car pricing." He noted that Kelley has been for sale, on and off, for the last 10 years.

The press release announcing the sale said that Auto Trader would continue to maintain Kelley Blue Book's independent position in the marketplace, with plans to keep its CEO, staff, and headquarters. Kelley Blue Book did not provide executives available for comment. Kelley Blue Book, long known as the “go-to source of automobile valuations,” will operate as a subsidiary of Auto Trader, which will keep its headquarters in Irvine, California.

Direct Injection isn't that "new" in terms of physical age, but then neither are dual clutch transmissions, traction control, underbody aerodynamics, or fully electric cars. These things have been in use for decades, but have made it to the civilian market only in the last decade. Direct Injection is especially new and untested, as BMW's latest voluntary recall can attest.

Direct Injection requires some pretty stout ancillaries to properly administer fuel in the combustion chamber. Along with injectors that could take your fingers off, an ultra high-pressure fuel pump is required to get the right amount of fuel in the right spot at the right time. This complicated technology is bound to have a few teething problems, and BMW is one of the first automakers to experience sore gums.

The high-pressure fuel pump installed in cars that feature the N54 twin-turbocharged inline-6 engine is apparently prone to failure. A long, agonizingly grinding engine start could be followed by a "Service Engine Soon" dash marker, and reduced engine performance. BMW plans to access each affected car, and then replace the fuel pump or reflash the ECU, depending on the severity of the issue.

There are low-pressure fuel pump issues with some BMW models as well, though these have nothing to do with Direct Injection. On some 2008 X3 and X5 models, equipped with N52 naturally aspirated inline-6s, may experience engine stalling due to their fuel pumps. Worn fuel pump internals are the culprit; BMW plans to alert owners by mail over the course of the next month. Press releases for both issues can be found inside this post . . .

Peugeot Citroen in partnership with Changan Automobile Group of China plans to launch a new line of luxury cars positioned at German premiums in the Chinese market. While a French company, with no cars in the U.S. starting a line of automobiles in China isn't the type of thing that usually raises our eyebrows, this announcement is interesting because Citroen reps confirmed that the line will be based on the Metropolis concept and will remain quite true to the design of that concept.

A new advertising campaign has been launched to promote the 2011 Ford Luxury MKX crossover, a move designed to expand the brand's efforts to differentiate new Lincoln product in the luxury auto market. The "Touch Me All Over" campaign was designed to show consumers that the Lincoln of today is "sexy and smart."

The new marketing effort will reach out to would-be buyers through television, radio, and print campaign with the main goal of attracting women’s attention, particularly upwardly mobile women in the urban market. TV spots will appear on such outlets as BET, TV-One, The Gospel Music Channel, and CNN.

If you were to hear a phrase something to the effect of "an All-American car that can tear through dirt, mud and gravel like a Jeep Wrangler," you probably wouldn't expect that it came from any of the stodgy, bottom-line-obsessed headquarters located in Detroit. And you'd be right: only the warped minds of the greater American public could come up with something that awesomely niche.

And that's exactly how the Rally Fighter came to be. Using the "open sourced" mentality of the software industry, the Massuchesetts-based Local Motors worked with a forum full of designers and creative minds to come up with the inspiration behind this bad-ass mo' fo'. Who would have predicted that something like this could come from the land of Harvard and Martha's Vineyard? Those warped public minds that didn't get to offer input on the design will be able to see the production-ready Rally Fighter at SEMA next week.

Nissan Motor Co. announced that the Japanese automaker plans to recall 2.14 million cars and light trucks, including the Pathfinder SUV and Titan pickup. This is the 3rd biggest recall for Nissan in the company’s history. The problem is with a faulty ignition relay that could potentially cause problems in the engine.

There are 835,000 units being recalled in Japan and 762,000 in the U.S. and Canada, according to Nissan spokesperson, Mitsuru Yonekawa. The models that were affected include 227,000 Titans, 143,000 Pathfinders, 123,000 Frontier units, 106,000 Armada vehicles, 101,000 Xterra units, and 36, 0000 Infiniti QX56 units. Japanese models included in the recall are the Cube and Micra passenger cars.

The electric automobile industry faces a large hurdle in developing the infrastructure and technology needed to make charging vehicles both practical and easy. One of the main negatives of electric vehicles is that they require special equipment, time and effort for charging. Another big negative is that unlike gasoline vehicles, which can be filled up by the gas stations that line nearly every route in the country, there simply isn't a sufficient charging infrastructure in place, leading consumers to have justifiable concerns with range anxiety.

One technology that is in development by a new team-up of companies could address these major concerns all at once. Imagine being able to pull up into a parking spot and get a charge without having to connect a single wire. That's the future of wireless EV charging.

Ford has announced that the it will invest $850 million in order to produce more fuel efficient vehicles, which will add 1,200 jobs in Michigan by the year 2013. Ford’s decision is supported by $400 million in state incentives.

According to Mark Fields, Ford’s president of North America reported that the State of Michigan will contribute $400 million in tax incentives over a 15 year time span. The plan will create 900 hourly jobs and an additional 300 salaried positions in order to complete the engineering and manufacturing operations. Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission plant, Sterling Axle, Livonia Transmission, and Dearborn Truck Plant will all be involved in the expansion plan that will create new jobs.

The SEMA show, which begins next week in Las Vegas, has a reputation for showcasing some of the most outlandish tunes and mods in the world. So it's fitting that the Venom GT, a supercar from tuning firm Hennessey, will appear at the show. The Venom GT may not look that strange when compared to the other cars of the show, but underneath, it's one of the wildest auto creations of modern times: a 1,200-horsepower engine tucked behind the seats of a Lotus Exige two-seater. The car bows at 11:15 a.m. on November 2.